Yesterday was the first day of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup! I’ve written on the cup before, and I want to keep up with it. It’s one of the best things about US soccer, and I think that it’s a great fit for Indianapolis both for the nature of the tournament and potentially for some big games for the Eleven. In any case… we now know the first Open Cup game for Indy… at it’ll be at the Mike! Start planning for a Wednesday night home game on May 28!

Many thanks to TheCup.us for tracking the games in detail — it’s a great resource for following the cup! You can also follow them on Twitter at @usopencup for real-time results. They’re not the official site — you can find that at ussoccer.com — but TheCup.us is probably your fastest avenue for updates.

This year’s tournament includes 80 teams. The first round started with eight games for amateur teams around the country. Here’s the quick overview of the results, with winners in bold.

San Diego Flash vs. SC Corinthians: Unfortunately, minnows Corinthians had to forfeit, so San Diego Flash advance by default.

PSA Elite vs Los Angeles Misioneros FC: PSA Elite, out of Irvine, CA, win on PKs after drawing 1-1 through extra time. (I have seen different reports on the PKs, with PSA Elite winning 2-3, 3-4, or 1-2, but 2-3 seems like the most common answer.)

Second Round Schedule

The 24 second round games will be played on May 14 (with one game on May 13). The second round sees the USL Pro join the tournament, bringing the first professional players into the mix. You’ll see big names with a history of Open Cup success like Charleston Battery and Rochester Rhinos enter the fray. Home team listed first. One game is highlighted in bold for a special reason…

(May 13) Portland Timbers U23s vs Arizona United SC

Orlando City U23s vs Jacksonville United FC

Schwaben AC (Buffalo Grove, IL) vs Dayton Dutch Lions

Baltimore Bohemians vs Icon FC (Montville, NJ)

Pittsburgh Riverhounds vs New York Red Bulls U23s

Ocean City Nor’easters vs NY Greek American Atlas

Reading United AC vs Greater Binghamton FC

RVA FC (Richmond, VA) vs Richmond Kickers

Lehigh Valley United vs Harrisburg City Islanders

Charlotte Eagles vs Carolina Dynamo

Michigan Bucks vs RWB Adria (Chicago, IL)

Orlando City vs Ocala Stampede

Charleston Battery vs Panama City Beach Pirates

Chattanooga FC vs Wilmington Hammerheads

Rochester Rhinos vs Western Mass Pioneers

Jersey Express vs Brooklyn Italians SC

Tulsa Athletics vs Oklahoma City Energy

Des Moines Menace vs Real Colorado Foxes

Austin Aztex vs North Texas Rayados

Fresno Fuego vs Orange County Blues

Laredo Heat vs Red Force (Miami, FL)

Ventura County Fusion vs Sacramento Republic

San Diego Flash vs PSA Elite (Irvine, CA)

LA Galaxy II vs Cal FC (Thousand Oaks, CA)

Third Round – Enter the NASL

With the second round just six days away, the US Soccer Federation held its draw for the third round games this afternoon. Third round is a big deal for Indy because it’s when the NASL teams join the fray. The pairings are up… and the Eleven will have a home game! We’ll play the winner of Schwaben AC vs Dayton Dutch Lions. The game will be played at 7:30PM on Wednesday 28 May, at Carroll Stadium. More details will be forthcoming soon, I’m sure.

Schwaben AC is based in Buffalo Grove, IL. The club was founded in 1926 by immigrants from Germany, mostly from the Wurttenberg area. They’re members of USASA (US Adult Soccer Association) and got their berth in the Cup by winning the USASA Region II competition against AAC Eagles (a local Chicago team with Polish roots) and FC Indiana (based in Lafayette). This will be Schwaben’s first US Open Cup appearance in 50 years. They’ll definitely be the underdogs in their fight against the pros from Dayton.

The Dayton Dutch Lions were founded in 2009. Unlike the 88-year German history of Schwaben, the Dutch lineage of the Lions is a lot more direct — they’re sponsored by Eredivisie club FC Twente. They’re currently 7th in the USL Pro table, with a 2-1-3 record, which places them as one of the last playoff teams. But the season is still young and the schedule isn’t balanced just yet. (Teams have played from 5 to 8 games, compared to Dayton’s 7.) They’ll be favored over Schwaben, but they do have to travel to Illinois for the game.

So that’s a total of five home games and three away games for the NASL teams. Remember, Edmonton and Ottawa aren’t eligible for the US Open Cup. They play in the Amway Canadian Championship, and Edmonton eliminated Ottawa 3-1 on aggregate over two ties on 23/30 April. Just last night, Edmonton got a 2-1 home win over the Montreal Impact of MLS in the first leg of their tie. They head to Montreal for the second leg next week, so Edmonton’s Saturday visit to Indy comes at a very busy time in their schedule. More on that tomorrow.

But for now, let’s enjoy the prospect of another home game for the Eleven. If they win their third-round tie, the fourth-round draw would look very interesting. They could draw another NASL side — or one of the MLS sides that start play in Round 4. Could we host the Fire at Carroll? Or travel to Columbus to take on the Crew? Let’s get that first USOC win for Indy and find out!